Paging Dr. Hamblin: Why Didn’t America’s Shutdowns Work?

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, James Hamblin takes questions from readers about health-related curiosities, concerns, and obsessions. Have one? Email him at paging.dr.hamblin@theatlantic.com.

Dear Dr. Hamblin,

I’m an American living in Germany, and I’ve been following how some people in the United States have opposed lockdowns due to fears about “shutting down the economy.” It seems to me that even to those who believe the economy is what matters most, having a complete national lockdown for a few weeks is economically better than what the U.S. is going through now. Should the U.S. have done that? And is it too late?

Mike Kukula

Berlin, Germany

Perhaps the least enviable status of any country during the pandemic is indefinite limbo—in which economic and physical suffering remain high, and no end is in sight.

It happens when a country